So, I tried finding names for the parents, and I gave up very quickly. The Wikipedia article says that the mother is also a vampire, and I have no idea if it's true or not. Regardless, the whole family, save Hikari, is human and I'll work on the parents' names as I go, but they're mostly going to be relegated to as many non-specific names as I can use, to keep it fresh without me having to think up Japanese names. It'll be much more interesting to see normal parents have to deal with a daughter that wants to basically feed off her sister, and I plan to have fun with it. Cheers.

It was late when the Takanashi parents got home. They had been out since the morning on what was planned to be an all-day shopping excursion extraordinaire. They needed a few items to spruce up the kitchen, a new lamp for the living room, and other miscellaneous items. Most importantly, they needed to stock up on tomato juice for Hikari. She had been going through them like crazy over the last two weeks. At least, crazier than she ever had before. The darkness of their front walk gave way to the warm light that flooded out their front door when they opened it, welcoming them home. Inside, they found everything to their liking. Nothing was destroyed, and their daughters were right where they were expected to be, whiling the day away on the green couch. Their father, glad to have fresh faces to talk to after a day of shopping, greeted his kids warmly.

"Hey, you two!"

"Hi, dad," sounded the unanimous reply, although he had always prided himself on his ability to tell which reply had come from which daughter, based off the tone and energy of the voice, and this time was no different. Something was off. He didn't know what yet, but Hikari was far from her normal, boisterous self, and that meant that something was very much so off. She seemed, to him, to be mellow and lost in thought, though he wasn't the only one picking up on it, of course. His wife tagged in.

"Was everything alright today?"

"Yeah, absolutely. Why wouldn't it be?" Himari offered, clearly attempting to move the conversation along and past the questioning. Yes, something had very much so happened today, but she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. However, in her attempts, she had spoken in a hurried voice, and had consequently given herself away to her parents, who, after 15 years of parenting, knew exactly what little signs to pick up on. And they picked up quick. (I officially need names. Looked a little closer and we'll be going with Koji and Midori. Sorry for the interruption.) After Midori sent a quick, knowing look Koji's way, she resumed her interrogation.

"Mmmmmhmmm. Hikari? Everything alright today? Nothing happened?"

"Uhhhh yeah, all good," came Hikari in a distant, tired voice.

"...right." Midori said. "Koji, let's go start washing those vegetables we got." She gave him a pointed look and he knew what it meant. She wanted to talk out of earshot from the girls.

Midori turned the kitchen sink on and let it run. Then, satisfied with the curtain of noise it created, she turned toward Koji and spoke to him in a hushed whisper.

"Do they think we're idiots?" She asked.

"Well, yes, but I don't see how that's relevant." Koji replied, jokingly.

Midori Smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"This is serious!" She chided, still in a hushed tone. "They're clearly hiding something from us."

"Wow, I hadn't noticed. How'd you figure it out?" Koji replied sarcastically. "Also, they're trying to hide something form us, and doing a piss poor job at it. I mean, honestly, I thought I had raised better liars than that." Said Koji, looking upon his twins disapprovingly.

"You're an idiot. Why did I marry you?" Midori asked.

"Because this idiot is also the undisputed master of all conflict resolutions. Observe." Koji said as he moved to confront his daughters.

"Well, can't wait to see how long it takes for everything to blow up in his face." Midori commented to herself.

"I heard that!" He called over his shoulder.

"I meant it!" She called back. Koji got to the back of the couch.

"Really, Hikari?" Koji asked, grabbing her attention.

"Huh?"

"Do you honestly expect us to accept that response from you? You, my fun-loving, smile-bound, ball of energy? Really? Surely, you can do better." He reprimanded. Hikari slunk down in her seat, trying to avoid giving an answer. "And you, Himari, nice try. Close, but no cigar." At this, Himari closed her book and sighed. Koji continued. "Something clearly happened, so I suggest one of you starts talking, before I start throwing out our supply of frozen liver." And there it was. He had played his trump card early, but he wasn't worried about it going to waste, because everyone knew he wasn't bluffing. He really would dump the good stuff. It was his one sure-fire threat. There was nothing for it, the twins both realized, so Hikari spoke up first.

"Yeah, something happened. Something…bad, happened." Hikari muttered.

"I'm sorry?" Koji asked.

"What does that mean?" Midori asked Hikari, then flicking her head towards Himari, she repeated herself. "What does that mean?"

Himari didn't have just her mother's eyes on her. There were Hikari's golden orbs, seeking approval for what she knew she had to do.

"Don't look at me, sis. The decision is yours, and yours alone. If you tell them, just know that I'll stand by you and defend you to the last. Don't tell them, and I go full state secrets." Himari said, making a zipping motion on her lips and leaving Hikari to contemplate. It didn't take long for Hikari to steady herself and answer the lingering question.

"Yeah. Yeah, something bad happened today." She said in a stronger voice, full of renewed confidence.

"Oh, good, this should be fun." Himari mumbled to herself, turning on the couch to better face their parents. She knew that Hikari was always going to fess up about what had happened, but that didn't mean she believed it was a good idea for even one second.

"Bad? Bad like how?" Koji's voice was filled with worry and concern.

"Are you both okay?" Midori's voice echoed her husband's fears. Himari was the first to respond, answering her mother.

"We're both fine, not a scratch on us."

"Bad like…like…" Hikari stumbled out, trying to answer her father.

"Like what?" He pressed.

"Like…" She was so afraid to say it and couldn't muster enough courage to press on.

"Like bat troubles?" Her mother asked. And there it was. 'Bat troubles'. It was the family's codeword for when Hikari was having issues with her vampirism. It got used often enough, and it was an easy way for Hikari to ask for help, or for her sister to ask for it on her behalf, without there being any awkward tension. Now, she felt plenty of awkward tension and only nodded sullenly.

"Ok, that's a good start, we can work with that." Came their mother's voice, calm, reassuring, and steadfast. A welcomed presence, as it always was. "Honey, what happened? If you need help, you know you need to tell us."

While his wife was trying to elicit the truth, and while Hikari struggled to respond, Koji acted fast and put together his own theory. It was a frightening theory, and one he did not like to entertain, but…it had happened before, and Hikari was never this reluctant to share anything with her parents if pressed to do so. She had a reason for being so scared, and he reckoned he knew what it was. If it had happened again, they needed to do something about it, and fast. So, for him, there was only one sure way to test it, and he approached Himari quickly.

"Let me see your neck, Himari." He commanded.

"What? Why would you need to see my neck?" She replied quickly, shying away and wrapping her left hand around her neck. Once more, her reaction more than gave her away. His daughter had no problem with hugs, pats, or anything of the sort. For her to shy away from his hand was more than a little telling. That, and Koji had gotten close enough to see a red mark near the base of her neck. What he didn't know was that it wasn't a puncture wound, but a scratch that Hikari's nail made when she forced Himari to the ground. But it didn't matter to him. He didn't need to know. He had already confirmed his theory in his mind, and he closed his eyes, backed away, and shook his head slowly.

"Oh, God." He said softly. His wife, who had started watching Koji as he went over to their youngest, gave a sad, shocked gasp, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Hikari…" He turned her way, his eyes filled with anger, confusion, and a touch of fear, "What did you do?"

It took maybe three seconds for Hikari to break out in a panicked sob.

"I'm s-sorry!" She cried out, practically bawling. "I-I didn't *sniff* didn't mean t-to."

"Didn't mean to WHAT?!" Koji was yelling now.

"Don't yell at her!" Himari shouted, trying to get some pressure off of Hikari's back. "She said she didn't mean to!"

"Himari, what exactly did she do to you?" Midori broke in with a raised voice, trying to question Himari on the side while the shouting/crying match raged on. It grew louder, more chaotic.

"Nothing!" Yelled Himari.

"Hikari, what did you do?!" Koji demanded.

"Himari tell me what she did to you, NOW!" Midori was starting to yell in her own right. The chaos was reaching its breaking point when it came, loud and clear.

"I ATTACKED HIMARI!" Hikari screamed, full of shame and rage. The silence that followed was deafening. At least, it would have been, were it not for Hikari's continuous, although now far quieter, sobbing. It had taken all of her strength to get it out there. Now, like a deflated balloon, she fell back onto the couch. The silence lingered for a good ten seconds.

"Goddammit!" Hissed Koji in a hushed voice, squeezing his eyes shut. "God fucking dammit!" Midori rushed to Himari's side.

"Sweetheart, tell me you're okay. Show me where she got you." Midori begged.

"What do you mean 'got me'?" Came Himari's reply, calm but accusing.

"You know full well what I mean."

"Maybe I do, but either you say it, or you don't get your answer!" Himari was starting to raise her voice. She was getting very frustrated with her parents, very quickly. Midori complied with the request. It seemed her daughter had been pretty brave about whatever had happened so far, which meant she could be brave too.

"*sigh*Where did she…bite you?" Midori managed to get it out, but it wasn't easy. She was asking about her daughter biting and sucking the blood out of her other daughter's neck. It was a very, very difficult thing for her to imagine as a mother, let alone talk about. But as she and everyone else in the family knew, it really had happened before, and the idea of it couldn't be taken lightly. Sure, they had made plenty of jokes about it around the dinner table over the years, but it was still a real threat. Midori and Koji both understood the promise between their daughters, and they had talked about it many nights, and were fully prepared for it to happen one day. At least, that's what they told themselves. But now, here in this moment, the thought of Hikari drinking from Himari…well, it was just a little too much right now, and Midori felt like she wanted to throw up. But then, Himari piped up, louder than ever.

"She didn't bite me! CHECK MY NECK!"

"I saw your neck and I saw the wound!" Koji spoke up.

"You saw nothing!" Himari said. "That's just a scratch, see?!" Himari presented her neck, removing the choker and inviting her parents in for a closer look. All that they saw simply served to confirm their daughter's claim. There was indeed no bite mark. It really was just a long, red scratch. It hadn't even drawn blood. They hadn't looked so relieved in a long time, letting out sighs and murmurings between themselves. After a few seconds, enough time to refresh his thoughts, Koji and Midori sat down between their kids.

"So, you didn't bite her?" Koji asked Hikari.

"N-n-no…" Hikari managed between sniffles and tears. Her face was buried in her arms, which rested on her tucked-up knees. She was too sad and ashamed to face her sister, let alone her parents. Yes, she and Himari had talked about it after it happened, and Himari had made sure to press the issue of shame, telling Hikari that she should feel none for having to drink blood, but it hadn't done much good.

"Hikari, sweetie, please tell us everything that happened." Midori said quietly.

"…ok…" Hikari said slowly. She was starting to calm down now, but she knew that once she got into the details, that calm wouldn't last for long. Nevertheless, she began. She told the full story to her parents, with the more rational Himari honoring her word and backing her up at every chance, defending her from any real wrongdoing.

It took a long time, and there were plenty of tears form the three ladies in the family, and many questions from their father, but Hikari told them. Hikari told them about her experiment, to see if she could change herself and no longer need blood. She told them how tired it had made her, how thirsty she was for blood, and the sheer level of desperation that thirst had brought on. She told them how scary it was when she saw the back of Himari's neck earlier in the day, when her vampiric nature took over and she attacked Himari. But she also told them of her own weaknesses in the moment, of how maybe she could have fought the urge a little harder, but the sight of Himari's neck was just so damn tempting. She wanted to drink from it like...like nothing she had ever wanted before. She told them of how she eventually broke free from the bloodlust, (even she wasn't fully sure how) and how she had run off to her room in tears. From there, Himari took over and explained her role and her own thoughts on what it was like having Hikari…on top of her like that. On top of her like a predator.

When all was said and done, before questions started flying, Koji took it upon himself to do what the moment needed, and he hugged Hikari. It started something of a chain reaction, and soon there was a family hug centered around the vampire. Once they all broke away, after some time, the only necessary, remaining question came.

"You're both okay, then?" Koji asked.

"Yes!" Came the quick unanimous reply, sounding far more genuine this time around.

"Well, alright then," said Midori, "that's really all that matters."

"Hikari, I'm sure you understand just how mad we are that you didn't drink your blood sooner. You get it for a reason and not drinking it, for you, is just…stupid." Koji said disapprovingly.

"I know…I'm sorry," Hikari started, still feeling awful about what happened, "but I- "

"We get why you did it, but that doesn't make it right. And I hope you understand, your reasonings honestly make us far more upset than your actions." Koji said.

"He's right." Midori said, backing up her husband.

"What? Why?" Hikari asked, sharing a confused look with Himari.

"You're a vampire, honey. You need to drink human blood in order to stay healthy. It is a fundamental part of who you are, and it cannot be overlooked. We three get that and are fine with it. You're the only one who doesn't seem to get it, because, apparently, you think you can just up and change that part of you. I mean, really? We thought that you had come to full terms with what being a vampire meant and you had accepted it as a part of who you are. But now, we find out that that wasn't the case, and you want to change these huge, unchangeable parts of you. So yeah, we're pretty damn upset!" Koji finished.

"Hey, I tried to tell her that too." Himari interrupted, understanding her parents' train of thought. She turned her attention towards her sister. "And, for what it's worth, I'm on their side all the way here. It was stupid and wrong of you to try and change your nature. Hell, your biology. You need to drink blood, it's not a switch you can flip on and off." Himari chided her twin.

"I know." Hikari said. And that was it. No protest, no explanation, no denial. Just a reserved, resigned defeat. Because she really did know that they were right and what she had tried to do was wrong.

"So be it." Koji said, taking Hikari out of the frying pan. "Just so long as you understand that we all love you just the way you are, fangs and all. Now, as for you, little lady," Koji began again, turning toward Himari and throwing her onto the fire, "me and your mother would like to start, by letting you know just how unbelievably proud we are of you for helping your sister through everything today and being there for her." Midori only nodded and grabbed Himari's hand, letting Koji continue on with his train of thought. "However, we still don't know how to feel about your…promise, to each other. I gotta admit, we really don't." Koji said.

"It's one thing for you to support your sister emotionally. But, to support her physically is…" Midori added.

"I guess what we're trying to say is we're not…entirely comfortable with the idea of you just willingly laying there and letting Hikari…suck your blood." Koji finished, his hands folded meekly on his lap.

"What? Are you suggesting I try and fight her off? Run away, like she's a monster that needs to be escaped? I don't think that'd do me, or anyone, much good." Himari said defiantly, taking back her hand and standing up.

"No, I'm just saying that- "

"Are you suggesting that I let her drink from someone else? Are you expecting her to bite someone at school?" Himari continued her barrage.

"No! We just think- "

"Then what? Surely, you're suggesting something, or you wouldn't have brought this up!" Himari started to shout.

"NO!" Yelled Koji, silencing Himari and the rest of the room. "No, we are not suggesting anything. But understand this, daughter of mine, that you are asking your parents to accept something they are very, very uncomfortable with…" He trailed off, giving Midori a chance to finish their shared thought aloud.

"You're asking us to accept the idea of one of our daughters harming…no, not just harming. Biting and drinking the blood out of our other daughter's neck. That's not something that we can just be okay with, even if we understand that Hikari absolutely needs to do it. We're parents, for Christ's sake. We're supposed to keep you from getting hurt, not let you hurt each other." Midori finished.

Himari bowed her head and Hikari dug her head deeper into her arms, believing, after all that had been said, that her parents were…afraid. Afraid of her. Afraid of who she was. Afraid of what she was.

"And no, we aren't saying that she should bite someone else. We can't have that. It would ruin us. Nor should you try and fight her off, because you're right, that would do no good and we can't treat her like she's a monster. But, well, maybe there's something else she can do when she has her bat troubles. I…I don't know." Midori said.

"Well, I don't know either," Koji started, "but maybe it would help if we got some actual input from her instead of talking about her like she isn't sitting right next to us. And yes, I know I've been doing it too, but…Hikari?" Koji prodded, trying to coax his eldest out of her ball. It took her a few seconds to respond, and when she did, her voice was timid and coarse.

"...what?"

"I know you probably don't want to after all that's happened, but it'd be awfully helpful if you came out and talked to us. We can't figure out how to solve your problem for you." Koji continued to prod. He got only silence in return. "Alright, fine. I'm coming in after you, then." He said, as he tried to pull Hikari's head out of her lap and nuzzle his own in next to hers. His face was now pressed against hers.

"How ya doin', Fangs?" He asked. Fangs. It was one of his pet nicknames for her, something he had started when she was younger. Whenever he picked her up to carry her around, back when she was still little, she would always chew on his shoulder to itch her teeth. He remembered feeling the gentle poking of her fangs, which were much smaller back then. It was before she had found a more suitable, willing pacifier in Himari's arm. But he had never stopped calling her Fangs, and so the name never failed to work its magic when he needed it to, as he did right now.

"…I'm fine, dad." She whispered. She was clearly lying, and fooling nobody, but at least she was talking again. It was a start.

"You think you can come talk to us?" He asked.

"Yeah...ok." She replied, composing herself and pulling her face up to face the room. It was a red, tear-stained mess, but it would do.

"Well then, I'll start things." Midori said, taking the reins. "Himari, you…are you still okay, comfortable, with the idea of your sister, coming to you, if she needs to…y'know…" Midori really was trying, but talking about this, particular subject matter, with her kids was still very difficult. Luckily, she didn't need to.

"Ok, I'm just gonna cut you off there." Himari said, interrupting her mother. "I get this isn't easy for any of us to talk about directly, but we need to stop pussyfooting around the issue, or we're never going to finish this. Also, I don't know about the rest of you, but if this goes on much longer, I'm gonna lose my mind. So, I'm gonna be the brave one and start us off and, if I can do it, then any of you can too, okay? So, here we go. Yes, mom, I'm still comfortable with Hikari drinking from me if she ever wants to." Himari said, taking the first step.

"…ok, you're right, of course, Himari." Koji said. "We need to address this directly if we're going to address it at all. So, Hikari, you're up. Well, actually, it's technically my turn first. Hikari, are you still willing to suck your sister's blood if the true need ever arises?" Koji asked, mustering up his own courage to talk about what he still considered to be a highly disturbing thought.

"Yeah, dad, I wanna stand by my promise with sis. If I ever need to bite someone, it'll be Himari." Hikari said, not wanting to be left out of the 'vampire bite directness party'. Himari gave a warm smile at her sister's reply. Sure, she knew what she was signing herself up for, and she wasn't exactly over the moon about the idea of getting drained. However, if it meant helping Hikari in an hour of need, then it would mean the world to her, and that was probably as close as she would get to being over the moon for the time being. Hikari noticed her twin's smile and returned it in kind. She was balancing an understanding of what she might one day have to do and a resentment over having to do it to anyone, let alone Himari. Ultimately, though, she realized that come what may, Himari would always be there for her, and that was something worth smiling about.

"Then I'll go last, and…I guess that settles it." Midori said. "Obviously, Hikari, we expect you to never forego your blood pack again. It's not an expectation, actually, it's a new family law. You will NOT ignore your blood pack EVER again! Understand?"

"I promise, I won't." Hikari said.

"Good enough for me." Koji said.

"Same." Came Himari's vote of confidence.

"Alright then, we're all agreed. If something happens to Hikari's blood pack outside of her control, like it doesn't show up, and we can't find another way to get one to her, she'll drink Himari's blood directly from her neck." Midori said, ending the talks only after everyone nodded their approval of the plan being proposed. And so, after a few quiet moments on the couch to take it all in, the girls retired to bed, and the day's ordeal finally came to a close.